“Mercedes has agreed to supply Lotus with Formula 1 engines from 2015 in a move that should help the team’s current supplier Renault focus on Red Bull, Autosport has learned. Lotus has been in talks with Mercedes for several weeks following a frustrating start to the 2014 campaign.”

Rosberg: “The task for tomorrow is to extract the maximum out of that situation, as we all know how fast momentum can disappear. But to be honest, I don’t really think about that this is his home race – I just want to win every race that we go to, no matter where.”

Sir Jackie Stewart: “He is a hugely-talented driver. His natural talent is very high, but his head certainly seems to have gone a bit. The single most important thing after God has given you the talent of being a racing driver is mind management. It doesn’t matter how good you are in the car, how much natural talent you have, it has to be managed.”

Christian Horner: “Unfortunately we misjudged the conditions at the end of Q3, so apologies to Daniel, he didn’t go again as he had already set a time. With both cars well up the field on a mixed up grid for tomorrow, hopefully we can have a strong race from there.”

Perez: “I feel really ashamed by the way my words have been distorted about the opportunity of racing side by side with a woman. I want to be absolutely clear that my intention was not to offend anybody, and my comment does not reflect a ‘macho’ posture on my behalf. I recognise that my comment, even though it was intended as a joke, was absolutely out of place and also unacceptable.”

Tweets

Saw some comments made by @SChecoPerez as I was making dinner in the kitchen last night… 😂 Please give him a break…

Comment of the day

Is Lewis Hamilton truly the quicker of the two Mercedes drivers? After yesterday’s qualifying error, @MazdaChris is not so sure…

Conventional wisdom would suggest that Hamilton should be faster in equal circumstances. Yet he has now been beaten in four consecutive qualifying sessions. I’m saying that the conventional wisdom that Hamilton is the faster driver does not hold up. From the results, it would seem that they are very evenly matched, with the difference coming down to very small variables which happen to have put the momentum Rosberg’s way. But you can’t escape the fact that Rosberg has now beaten Hamilton in four consecutive qualifying sessions. Not what you’d expect from a ‘slower’ driver against a man who is (again, according to conventional wisdom) one of the fastest qualifiers on the grid.@MazdaChris

As much as I would love it, I can’t see Hamilton beating Rosberg tomorrow.
I think it’ll be Mercedes 1-2 again, but overtaking at Silverstone is deceptively difficult due to the high speed corners, even with DRS.

I understand, people have to keep fighting to the end, but I think Winning Championship for RBR is not a realistic target for them. i expect they will win some races again, but not for the Championship

@mazdachris, congrats on COTD but it only highlights the perversity of F1, looking at the stats only your conclusion seems reasonable but it takes no account of the time Lewis set in Q2. By the same reasoning you would dismiss Sterling Moss as an overated blowhard.

Indeed, there’s no doubting that Hamilton is faster than Rosberg, he’s been proving it since they first raced together as kids. But, knowing him that long means Rosberg knows how to rattle him – and that he certainly has done. Hamilton should have been on pole by a few tenths in Austria, Britain… perhaps he would say Monaco and Canada as well.

So – unless he wants to end up like Stirling, and have a lot less titles from various reliability/statistical quirks, he needs to get on top of Rosberg at Hungary, Singapore, Abu Double etc. and haul him back in again, like he did for 4 straight races, until we got to Rosberg’s home town.. I wouldn’t be surprised if all the weight loss for 2014 has played with Hamilton’s mind a little either. But a Lewis with his father behind him would never have made mistakes like we’ve seen in the last few races.

I think @mazdachris is right, you can’t ignore the basic facts. Playing the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” game will get you nowhere. If that was the case F1 history would be different.

Also Q2 is not the end of qualifying. Not to mention, was Max Chilton of all people, not in the top 10 at the end of Q1, hmmmm he must be a faster driver than some. Q1 and Q2 are not the final say (In the case of the Mercedes cars). If I was Rosberg I would be just going out and banking a lap on the prime tire and that’s that. The main aim is to make it to Q3, I could care less about the other parts of qualy, as long as I’m fastest in Q3 when it MATTERS. @HoHum

@sward28,@mazdachris,@robbie, Well the stats are closing in on Nico, I’m not denigrating Nico, I think he is an excellent driver with very good tactical skills and a cool head but I think an unb***ed analysis of the stats that took account of mechanical failures would clearly suggest that LHs best is slightly better than NRs best when looking purely at speed, racecraft may be different, or not.

But stats are all that matter. What’s the point in having performance in your pocket which you’re never able to use at the crucial moment?

Don’t get me wrong, I think Hamilton is a fantastic driver, and one of the fastest on the grid. My comment was in response to someone who wheeled out the usual statement that “Hamilton is clearly the faster driver” – I am simply challenging that assertion. There’s a weird thing that happens with Hamilton. When he beat his teammate or gets a pole or a win, people say “This is Hamilton’s normal performance. This is a normal result for the fastest racer on the grid” but when he is beaten the reaction is “Hamilton has had an unusually bad result” or “Rosberg has had good luck”. The implication is always that Hamilton is the fastest driver who should always win unless someone is lucky enough to be faster than him. Even when, as is the case this year, Rosberg has actually generally outpaced Hamilton on ‘normal’ weekends. I just don’t agree that Hamilton’s superiority is obvious and self evident. If definitely was the case when he was paired with Button, and when he was paired with Kovalainen. But I don’t see any real evidence that Hamilton is clearly the superior driver of the two. I think people massively underrate Rosberg and are making an effort to discredit the incredible job he’s doing. Even when he’s beating Hamilton, people still say that Hamilton is faster. But where is the evidence? It certainly isn’t from the results.

@mazdachris I have been in agreement with your comments on this over the last few days. For me it boils down to the fact the LH has simply had a top car for far longer than NR, and therefore the chance to compile numbers and a WDC that NR simply has only had this year. The numbers aren’t there to argue with assurance what NR is capable of, especially vs. LH. This is why I have been urging people all season to, rather than assume LH will dominate NR, give NR the chance to grow and flourish in this new territory for him, and let’s just see where he takes his journey. Of course with 4 straight LH wins it was looking ominous for NR, but the season is long, the story is unfolding, NR is also good, all WDCs were non-WDCs at some point, and LH has made big mistakes in the past to go along with his fantastic talent and speed, and has done so this year too.

As always I look to see how the drivers do when the pressure is at it’s greatest, and that is still building right now. But for me a great sign for NR was his start at Monaco after several races prior to that having shaky starts. It’s like he has ironed that out when he has had to. It’s like he is not rattled, but rather invigorated, when the going gets tough. Just as I would have understood him being rattled by having MS as a teammate, but he wasn’t, he seems absolutely ready to take on all comers. Of course that is no guarantee, and he may yet this season be in the highest pressure situation he has ever been in, so for me the journey continues and I find it a blast to watch. I wish him all the best with continued full expectation that LH will answer back and apply the pressure he needs to.

There seems to be two fastest drivers, one in the media / on this web page and one on the track. The fastest driver on the track is Nico, I am happy to say as he has been one of my favorite drivers from the beginning when he would chat a bit about the upcoming race track and draw it from memory … sometimes failing miserably but always with a smile and great attitude. RnR

Actually, he has been doing quite some mistakes, just less, and less consequential ones than Lewis. And the one that had consequences (Monaco) kind of turned around for him.
Unfortunately, all the other cars are so much slower there is no one there to punish both for having a rather weakish season.

I dont think he was referring to your coverage of the sport, but more to the people who comment at the bottom of these pages. These incessant Hamilton fans that will state as if it is “fact” that Hamilton is clearly the faster driver. When actually there is little to no evidence of that on the track in this season at all.

@austus@hohum@bullmello@eurobrun I’m only giving Perez the benefit of the doubt on this because the original quote was in Spanish and I’m far from fluent in that.

But looking at the translations I’m not convinced. I haven’t seen an explanation from anyone how Perez’s words were ‘misquoted’ or ‘taken out of context’, which is the knee-jerk response anyone in the public eye comes out with when they’ve said something they shouldn’t have. And Wolff sticking up for him doesn’t make him right.

If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t apologise. The fact Perez has is telling.

But its kinda funny that Susie said herself
“i’m a better driver than a cook”
So if she invites me to dinner , we getting take out, :) my treat .
and I know Sergio is a very good cook, and will no doubt have an excellent taco street stall bike when he’s finished his F1 career, I have been through Mexico and those street tacos are awesome, I just didn’t notice the wooden chopping block and spent 60 days on Metronidazole

It’s really hard to see exactly what kind of innocent, non-sexist comment could be taken so out of context. I have no doubt that Perez thought he was making an innocent joke, and was probably being ironic. But sadly comments like those do reflect the opinions of a lot of people in F1 and in the fandom. It merely highlights that there is still a lot of work to do before women are genuinely regarded equally when it comes to being racing drivers.

I think as men we have a responsibility to challenge this kind of attitude wherever we can. Checo’s comments, even if made totally in jest, are simply making a joke out of a genuine situation which women have to deal with every day. It may be a bit of a laugh for him, but for women it’s not a joke at all. If you’re not part of the solution…

@keithcollantine I don’t think Wolff could have said anything else to be honest- if she had made a big deal out of it then the misogos (which dominate F1) would have been saying how she’s uptight and taking it too seriously and therefore isn’t up to competing in F1. I’ve followed her closely and she has been trying to walk an impossible tightrope of keeping everyone happy in a world where women just aren’t wanted or accepted. She gave an interesting interview to the BBC and was asked whether Bernie and Frank had made her life easier (with regards to being a woman racing driver) and her response was “well, they haven’t made it any more difficult” which to me shows that she isn’t getting much support for being a woman racing driver, that the big wigs are doing as little as possible but that she’s still got to keep them on side. Just my interpretation then.

@MazdaChris it’s not up to you to determine what is and what isn’t sexist first off, given that as a man you don’t have to live with daily sexism. That kitchen joke has been doing the rounds for centuries- if it wasn’t sexist then it wouldn’t always be aimed at a women and it wouldn’t always be used to mean “get out of this man space”. It is sexist in every way and it hasn’t got any funnier after decades of being used. Sexist guys may find it funny but they’re hardly known for being progressive anyway…
You’re right that it isn’t a joke for women and men do have a responsibility in F1 to level the playing field which is why his comment wasn’t taken out of context- more than Perez hasn’t understood the context of what women face.

You’re absolutely right, and it is something I always try to keep in mind when talking about subjects like these. I understand and appreciate that my input on the subject may not be welcome, and I always defer to the opinions of women on the subject. I’ve come to realise, through reading a lot of feminist material, that most men are absolutely blind to these issues. I’ve tried, as much as possible, to open my eyes and see where this kind of behaviour exists. And through doing so have started to see the world as a very different place from what I used to take for granted.

If a woman tells me that this is her experience of the world, I shut up and listen. And I try to encourage other men to do the same.

True. Though it’s usually pretty clearly telegraphed where people have an agenda which is in their own interests and not necessarily in support of women in general. But overall I feel like there’s a great groundswell of fantastic blogs and websites out there which are brilliantly written and drive home the reality of life for women in 21st century Western Society. Following some of the twitter hashtags and the everyday sexism twitter feed is genuinely harrowing, and has certainly helped me realise how guilty I have been in the past of behaviours which probably made women around me feel uncomfortable or threatened.

It does seem that motorsport is one of those areas where sexism is massively ingrained into its very DNA.

I’m only giving Perez the benefit of the doubt on this because the original quote was in Spanish and I’m far from fluent in that.

That is exactly the reason why I got so ticked off when I read some of the comments made by the english speaking world. There are some things that have to be understood in the native language. I am sure I would not understand some “jokes” the british make because although I do speak english(and am fluent in it), my sense of humor is more “american” and therefore I would not understand british humor. I might consider it distasteful.
There are many phrases you guys say that I still don´t quite get like: “knee-jerk response” or the one about “rose-tinted glasses”… and I totally agree with what you said:

If you haven’t done anything wrong, you don’t apologise.

I agree with it 100% but we can see how the PR machine jumped into action here to keep him “likeable”. Personally I would have never apologized and now on Susie, she has now earned my respect! The way she handled it just goes to show that she is a true lady, she can take jokes and is not as “anal” as the society I have critisized before. She is truly a class act and now has my full support!
I think everybody should just take huge “chill” pills before coming out with the picks and torches while waving the “sexist” flag…

@keithcollantine – Agreed, however translated or intended, I think it was a rather dumb comment to make in the first place. Susie Wolff helped him out of a bad spot and at least Perez had the sense to do the best thing he could and apologize.

@keithcollantine, My comment never suggested “misquoteing” or being taken out of context, rather I commented on “selectively quoteing”, but I do feel that unless it is being acknowledged as part of wry, self-deprecating joke it is being taken out of context. @bullmello,@stephanie1990,@mazdachris.

PS. I think it would be very hard to argue that Suzie Ws F1 career has been hurt by her gender.

Poor Checo, the PC police never miss an opportunity to selectively quote and ignore the sarcasm/irony intended to berate some poor person (I would say man but that’s a trap I avoid ) and label them a sexist Neanderthal (apologies to anyone from the Neander valley ). This is why we get such bland comments from our PR managed drivers.

@hohum
As a Cro-Magnon I’m offended that only Neanderthals have their own slang word, while we are left with nothing. I demand that PC department of offensive words come up with a negative use for a word “Cro-Magnon” too.

@hohum Technically, we all have DNA from Neander Valley.. only Africans may not have 1-4% received from Neanderthals – but there could still have been backwards gene flow into Africa. There’s also Denisovans.. e.g. that’s where Tibetans get their altitude genes from, the sherpas not only climb Everest, but carry all the equipment too! I’m sure there’ll be more that we don’t know about yet…

Im not gonna say that Red Bull have no hope off catching and beating Mercedes, Im gonna say they need unbelievable luck for the rest of the season. Yeah sure, were not halfway into the season yet but if Red Bull were to get up on Mercedes, it will be through repeats of Canada or if its raining for every gp for the rest of the season. But, as Mercedes showed yesterday, surprisingly, not even the rain could phase them yesterday

Rob Smedley: “I take the responsibility. It was fairly simple: we got out too late in the final run and got caught out by the weather. That’s fundamentally what happened today.”

Surely it isn’t in the remit of the “Head of Vehicle Dynamics” to make the call on the weather, is it? Is that Smedley using his vast experience as a top level Race Engineer to help Williams improve on top of his normal duties or is he being given much more authority at Williams than is being let on? Could be possibly be being groomed for a team principal role in the future?

Conceding the title so early makes 0 to no sense for RBR. Their car is obviously good so they have a platform to build upon and with the few changes for next year the majority of developments for this year’s car will not be in vain.

Lewis “may” have thought he was the faster driver as well,
But please , check his grid spot, unless the clock is wrong he’s not even top 3,
I am sure of this though,
The Fire in his belly will be stoked , if he can keep his wits about him, his emotions in check and drive the race not just the first lap , I will put $50 on Lewis, Heck , Im not even a fan,